Today, on the occasion of their 2nd wedding anniversary, Mariah and Nick will be surrounded by family and friends as they take their wedding vows for the third time in a ceremony at their Los Angeles home.

After the celebration, they will then head to Las Vegas where they are expected to see the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley boxing bout at the MGM Grand on Saturday night, May 1.

Regina from the Lambs Go Hard team created a video montage of Mariah and Nick's happy moments in celebration of their 2nd wedding anniversary. Check out the video below! A longer, edited version can be viewed at HBFMovement's YouTube channel.

Today, April 30th, is Mariah and Nick's 2nd wedding anniversary. We here at Mariah Daily Journal send our very best wishes for many more blessed and blissful years to come! Happy Anniversary, Mariah and Nick!

Feel free to convey your love and anniversary wishes for Mariah and Nick in the Comments section. Thanks to Casey for the banner.

On her show today, Wendy Williams discussed the recent gossips about Mariah: Mariah and Nick renewing their wedding vows, Mariah's weight gain, Mariah and Nick's marriage being on the rocks. She says she doesn't think Mariah has gained as much as the tabloids are reporting. She compares Mariah's struggle with her weight to Delta Burke's (of Designing Women). She doesn't believe that Mariah and Nick's marriage is in trouble.

It's all about glamour and nothing will make you feel more beautiful than Forever Mariah Carey!

Be one of the first 200 people to visit Macy's Herald Square at the below time and have your picture taken as you step onto the Forever inspired photo shoot set! Receive a special picture frame to display your glamorous picture Forever! The perfect gift for Mother's Day can be yours with any qualifying purchase of Forever Mariah Carey.

If Mariah Carey had gotten her way, you wouldn't be hearing her current hit, "Love Takes Time," on the radio right now. Last spring she gave Columbia Records what she thought was a finished version of her debut album, the million-selling Mariah Carey. Then, during a promotional tour, Carey found herself next to Columbia president Don Ienner on a plane and played him a roughed-out demo version of "Love Takes Time." Ienner said, "That's great! Let's use it." "Wait," Carey pleaded, "I wrote this for my second album." But Ienner prevailed and Carey rushed back into the studio to polish up the tune. Two days later the song was finished in time for the album, but not for the album jacket. That's why early copies of Mariah Carey didn't mention that "Love Takes Time" is one of its songs. Album covers take time, too.

Below are scans of the original ("Love Takes Time" not listed) and revised copies of Mariah's debut album, Mariah Carey.

Renewing one's wedding vows is typically a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey prefer to do it a little more frequently than that – like every year!

"I encourage everybody to do it. If you are happy and in love, celebrate it!" Cannon, 29, said Friday on his New York radio show, confirming that he and his pop-star wife, 40, will renew their vows – for a second time – to celebrate their second wedding anniversary.

"Don't everybody do that?" the America's Got Talent host asked. "Don't, like, Heidi Klum and Seal do the same thing every year? It's just something fun to celebrate. We renew our vows and exchange gifts."

Their anniversary is this Friday, but as of last week, the couple hadn't settled on a final plan for this year's celebration. They wed in 2008 on Carey's Bahamian estate, but aren't looking for an island getaway this time around.

"We did that last year and the year before that, too," says Cannon. "This year we want to do it like in a normal setting, so it might be in L.A. ... Hey, I say we do it in a church in Brooklyn. That will be hot."

Cannon says his gift to Carey this year is "something very thoughtful and it has nothing to do with money." And he adds: "We are just trying to keep the romance alive. That's all."

The Fragrance Foundation announced its finalists for the 2010 FiFi Awards (the "Oscars" of the fragrance industry) in a conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York last Friday, April 23. Mariah's "Ultra Pink" received a nomination in the Women's Popular Appeal category!

Mariah's cover of Foreigner's 1984 hit "I Want To Know What Love Is" continues to rule the Brazilian Airplay chart - now in its 27th consecutive week at #1!

Fans in São Paulo, Brazil are celebrating the smash success of Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel and the airplay record of "I Want To Know What Love Is" in a party at Hotel Cambridge (Rua João Adolfo, 126) on Saturday, May 1, 2010 starting at 11:00pm. Brazilian fans who want to join the Mariah celebration can call: 11 80608410 / 94234952 / 80272213 or e-mail: adelaide.festa@gmail.com for further details.

Mariah's Top Singles in the UKPosted by Lynnon Monday, 26-Apr-2010, 3:11AM EDT

Last Saturday, April 24, MTV UK aired its Official Countdowns series featuring Mariah's "Official Top 20 Best Selling Singles." Below are Mariah's Top 20 singles in the UK, each shown with its total sales to date and chart peak.

Gabourey Sidibe was the host of last night's episode of Saturday Night Live. During her opening monologue, she did a musical number about how she's not the character she played in Precious to the tune of "It's In His Kiss." Watch the video below. At around 3:45 into the video, Gabourey sings, "Lenny Kravitz is not a male nurse and Mariah Carey doesn't have a mustache... just a little."

Mariah Carey headed straight to the top of the American charts with her debut single "Vision of Love." But she had been captivating audiences long before then, charming her mother's operatic circle as a cute four year old.

She nurtured her taste for music of a diet of old soul and gospel greats, until one day she made her vision come true, as she found herself working alongside the likes of Narada Michael Walden, Taylor Dane's producer Ric Wake and Rhett Lawrence of Michael Jackson and Earth Wind and Fire fame. All three were brought in to work on the 20 year old New Yorker's debut album, "Vision of Love," the fastest selling album since Tone Loc's record breaking debut.

Mariah's been compared to Whitney Houston and, although she's flattered with the comparisons, she's determined to carve her own niche.

"I just see myself as a singer/songwriter, and I'm trying to do this because I've wanted to do this all my life. I'm not trying to be like anyone. I'm not trying to take anyone's audiences away, to model or mould myself on anyone else. I'm just trying to basically get my music across and please myself."

Mariah started singing professionally at the age of 17 having already formed a songwriting partnership with high school friend Ben Margulies. She worked as a waitress by day but her work really began when she left for all night studio sessions with Ben. She got through almost 20 waitressing jobs, but maintained a steady commitment to her music.

"I was pretty much in a vacuum. We were working in the back of a little wood shop. I would go from work waitressing from one in the morning, work with Ben until 8am, then go to sleep."

But it was a stint of background vocals with Brenda K. Starr that indirectly led to her big break. Brenda invited her to a party where she gave the president of CBS record her tape. Playing the tape on his way home, he was so impressed by what he heard that he went back to offer Mariah a deal. But Mariah had already left the party, leaving no forwarding number or contact address. He finally tracked her down through Brenda's manager, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Nobody could be more suprised than Mariah herself about the reaction her music has provoked. "At the time it wasn't really what was happening. It's not a dance record, or a rap record, so I wasn't really sure if people would get into it.

"I've had kids of 12 coming up to me saying 'we like your songs'. I guess it was more of a mass appeal thing than I originally thought."

Mariah grew up listening to the likes of Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and Aretha Frankln. Although she doesn't like to class herself as a soul singer in the classic sense, she hopes to provoke the same sensations and feelings that her heros aroused in her.

It's an emotive album that belies her tender years. But as she explains: "I've always been mature for my age. My mother was an opera singer and vocal coach, and always had me around grown-ups. Even at the age of four everyone used to comment how I could concentrate and sing songs."

Mariah has never been frightened of a challenge, and would have preferred to record the album alone with Ben. She agreed to work with her three big name co-producers after conceding that her studio experience was rather limited. But it's an area Mariah is keen to master herself.

She sees her writing partnership with Ben as a long term commitment, though she's recently been working with Narada Michael Walden's keyboard player.

"I'm really enjoying it. We've done a few songs together. It'll probably be someone else I'll have a writing partnership with for the next album. I'll probably experiment with some different dance stuff. But it's not my strength."

"Vision of Love" and the current hit "Someday" had plunged Mariah into the spotlight, and all the hard work that does with it. But she revels in her new-found success.

"When no one knows you, you are constantly trying to prove yourself. But, after you have a bit of success, you're still doing it. You're always proving yourself in one way or another. I'd be under more pressure if I didn't have any success.

"It's not being taken over by something I don't like. I can't complain because I've wanted to do this my whole life."

Celebrity snapper David LaChapelle mentions Mariah in his interview with Times Online. Below are excerpts.

In less than 12 hours, Mariah Carey will arrive at David LaChapelle's Los Angeles studio to be photographed for her Christmas album. LaChapelle chastises himself for telling me ("it's meant to be a secret"), then shrugs: "Well, I've told you everything else." We've been together all day at his home, by his pool, in his bedroom and now at his cacophonous, warrenous workspace, ricocheting this way and that around a life of sex, death, celebrity, drugs, depression, art, disco and — he insists — miracles.

On a series of stage sets, as his friend Michael Jackson's songs pound from the music system, LaChapelle's team are garlanding fake windows with lights and arranging presents under a hideous silver tree. LaChapelle's close friend Sharon Gault, Madonna's former make-up artist (and his "unofficial wife"), is organising food. Carey, says LaChapelle, "isn't a diva. She never pisses on the little people." There is a graffitied city backdrop of night-time blues and sulphurous yellows. Fake snow is in bags. "That's pretty," I say, looking at wooden cutout reindeer. "Mariah wanted real ones," LaChapelle says, rolling his eyes. The boyish 47-year-old photographer is in jeans, scrappy T-shirt and hoody and speaks in a spacey Californian drawl. "Flown from Nebraska. Can you imagine, real reindeer?"

Well, yes, we can imagine. LaChapelle is famed for his gaudy, extravagant, some have claimed grotesque and empty, celebrity portraits; although he says he has mostly given them up, and now takes pictures only of favourites such as Carey and Lady Gaga.

[...]At about 1am, Mariah preparations wind down. LaChapelle is going out ("just for a minute or two") to a club. He grimaces at his photographs being described as camp or kitsch. "They're just words which mean people don't want to look. I've seen people stop and look at my work in galleries. Not just at the bodies, the genitalia, but really look." If he's the cartoonist his critics claim he is, he's a serious one and obviously happier with his work on gallery walls than in magazines. But you know that, through his lens, snowflakes whirling and tinsel shimmering, Mariah will never look more Christmassy — even if the reindeer aren't real.

Mariah Carey songs cover a multitude of decades and music genres, as we saw the five-octave singer transition from pop-y ballads (featured in her eponymous debut) to R&B, hip-hop and dance-pop driven tracks in 1997's 'Butterfly.'

Known as the best-selling female performer of the '90s, Mariah Carey struggled in the early 2000's with two unsuccessful albums, only to redeem herself again with 2005's 'The Emancipation of Mimi.' Covering a modern holiday staple, a heartfelt thank you to God and even a desperate plea for a lovers return, here are the Top 10 Mariah Carey songs (so far), as chosen by AOL Radio listeners.

10) 'Honey' - Recorded for Carey's seventh studio album, 1997's 'Butterfly,' this top Mariah Carey song marks the diva's transition from pop to more R&B -- possibly due to the track's beat sampling, borrowing both World's Famous Supreme Team's 'Hey DJ,' and Treacherous Three's 'The Body Rock.' The track earned two Grammy nominations in 1998 for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. The music video is just as notorious as the track, as it shows a more sexy Carey compared to her previous wholesome image.

9) 'Shake It Off' - 'Shake It Off' is a single off Carey's 10th album, 2005's 'The Emancipation of Mimi.' Released after 'We Belong Together,' it didn't live up to the critics expectations; however, commercialy it was a major success -- it's paired music video even earning a MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best R&B Video.

8) 'Vision of Love' - 'Vision of Love' was the first song Carey wrote after Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola signed Carey to a recording contract. The song's lyrics describe the singer as having a 'vision of love' and being grateful -- not to a lover but to God. According to Carey, the song is based on personal struggles she'd had as a child with her parents divorce, such frequent relocation and people's reactions to her ethnicity.

7) 'Obsessed' - Off Carey's 12th studio effort, 'Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel,' this top Mariah Carey song featured rapper The-Dream on the song's intro. When the song was released in 2009, almost immediately critics began speculating that the song was targetted at rapper Eminem, in response to his song 'Bagpipes from Baghdad,' where he taunted Carey's husband, Nick Cannon, by saying that Carey belonged to the Detroit rapper.

6) 'Fantasy' - 'Fantasy' appears on Carey's fifth studio album 'Daydream.' Released in 1995, the song is based off a sample of Tom Tom Club's 1981 single 'Genius of Love.' This Mariah Carey song marked the sixth year in a row that Carey received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

5) 'I Don't Wanna Cry' - A track from her debut album, 'I Don't Wanna Cry' was Carey's first single that she did not co-write with Ben Margulies. Originally she said she was excited because it sounded like something that would be played on the radio. The song was famously covered by 'American Idol' alum Jason Castro during his run on the television contest.

4) 'Hero' - Originally inspired from the movie by the same name, Carey ended up keeping the song for her own album, 1993's 'Music Box' (her fourth studio release). It became one of her top concert numbers -- next to 'Vision of Love' -- and earned her a 1995 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, but losing to Sheryl Crow's radio hit 'All I Wanna Do.'

3) 'Always Be My Baby' - The Grammy-Award-Winning 'Always Be My Baby' was released in 1996 from Carey's fourth studio effort 'Daydream.' Even though the bittersweet song talks about a failed relationship, the singer assures herself that her former lover will come crawling back to her as soon as he realizes he misses her.

2) 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' - Critics argue that this 1994 Carey tune is the only notable modern addition to the Christmas music canon. The song -- about how she does not care about presents or lights, all she wishes for Christmas is to be with her love -- has been covered multiple times by the likes of John Mayer and Shania Twain as well as alternative rock groups My Chemical Romance and Zebrahead. The Christmas track also appeared in numerous films, most notably 2004's 'Love Actually.'

1) 'We Belong Together' - By the time Mariah Carey's 10th studio album came out in 2005, the singer had been going through a rough streak of failures and disappointments. 'We Belong Together' -- released as the second single off 'The Emancipation of Mimi' -- was the turning point for Carey's career. The R&B '80s-inspired track is built on simple piano chords and backbeats, chronicling a woman's desire for her former lover to return to her. AOL Radio's No.1 song won a multitude of awards and accolades, including two 2006 Grammy Awards.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) hosted its 27th annual Pop Music Awards last night at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The star-studded event, which was attended by over 700 leading songwriters, recording artists and music industry leaders, honored the songwriters and publishers behind some of today's most popular music.

"Obsessed," Mariah's 2009 hit from her album Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel, was among the 50 songs awarded the "Most Performed Song."

With 'Vision of Love' topping three charts, 20-year-old Mariah is one of the hottest new names in music and she's making Whitney Houston break out in a cold sweatBy Edwin J. Bernard

Mariah Carey is going to be a megastar. No doubt about it. Already she's become the only artist in America to top the Pop, Black and Adult Contemporary charts with a debut single. 'Vision of Love' is doing pretty well here, too — its updated doo-wop sound cutting through the dance dominated chart like a buzz-saw through paper.

It's hard not to rave about 20-year-old Mariah, especially after listening to her self-titled debut album, which is currently the fastest selling US debut album since Tone Loc. It's hardly original, but it's totally classy: a distillation of classic soul and gospel influences. Mariah has taken the essence of Stevie Wonder, Minnie Ripperton, Gladys Knight and Al Green, building her songs on their solid frame.

Her amazing voice spans seven octaves and on top of that she writes the lyrics and melodies too, leaving her collaborators (including producers Narada 'Whitney' Walden and Ric 'Taylor Dane' Wake) to fill in the arrangements.

Mariah is staying at the Conrad Hotel in Chelsea Harbour during her two-day visit to Britain. She's a very sweet, skinny white girl (with an Irish-American mother and a half Venezuelan father) with long curly chestnut tresses and a Karen Carpenter chin. Dressed in a white halter-neck top, blue jeans and sneakers she's more sassy than naive, for sure. But she's neither cocky nor super-sophisticated, considering her immense talent.

Mariah was discovered Cinderella-like almost two years ago at a Columbia Records party. Her friend, singer Brenda K Starr, who Mariah had been singing back-up vocals for, handed a demo tape to CBS bigwig Tommy Mottola who signed Mariah the next day after playing it in his car and rushing back to the party to find her.

This was no fluke. Ever since she was four years old, Mariah knew that she was going to be a singer. "I think I always knew that there was nothing else I really loved doing," she says, relaxing in her small hotel suite that is bigger than her own Manhattan apartment which she shared with two cats. "My mother was a professional singer so I knew it was a feasible kind of profession, and it wasn't just a pipe dream."

Mariah's mother, Patricia Carey, an opera-turned-vocal coach, was the major influence in Mariah's life. Aged six, Mariah was hanging out with her mother's musician friends, entertaining them with renditions of TV commercials, and getting an unrivalled musical education into the bargain. "Mom would say I was six going on 35," she laughs. "I've always been like a grown-up."

But Mariah's single-mindedness meant low marks at school. "I thought, 'How is this going to help me in life? I'm going to be a singer anyway'."

Greatly influenced by soul and gospel, she sessioned on the New York R&B scene whilst still in High School, where she met her longtime songwriting partner, Ben Margulies, seven years her senior. One of the songs they wrote together was 'Alone In Love,' one of the stand out ballads on the album. The 16-year-old Mariah produced some incredibly mature lyrics about a couple's failing relationship. Does she write from experience?

"I don't think so," she smiles, "I kind of use everything I've ever thought about in my songs. And whatever the melody makes me feel is what I gear the lyrics towards."

Mariah must have a vivid imagination, because despite writing songs about relationships, she's never had a serious one herself. "I've had boyfriends," she laughs, "but I've always been focused to doing music. I've always had this attitude, 'ha, ha, I'm leaving. I'm going to sing.' So I guess they were a little more serious about it than I was. I knew I wasn't going to get out of High School and get married, you know what I mean?"

If Mariah sounds a little different from the rest of us, she probably is. She's totally prepared for the life of a megastar, and will probably end up a semi-recluse. She's convinced success won't change her, and the downside — a lack of privacy, few genuinely close friends — doesn't seem to faze her either.

But if there's one thing getting in the way of Mariah's inevitable rise, it's her uncanny vocal resemblance to Whitney Houston. Is there room for both of them? Whitney is probably going up the wall at the moment. "She probably doesn't think that some newcomer is gonna... you know what I mean? Actually, before I had a deal, a publisher wanted to take my songs and solicit then for Whitney Houston. I wouldn't do it. I wanted them for me.

"But I think the main difference between us is that I'm also a songwriter and I intend to experiment a lot. Whatever, I think I've only just begun."

A singer demands $450,000 from Mariah Carey and Island Def Jam Music Group, claiming the tune "My Love" was based on his composition, "Are You the One." Trent Farmer and DeMario Driver also sued Terius Youngdell Nash pka "The Dream," who recorded "My Love," and others in Federal Court.

Farmer claims John Huffman IV, of Real Content Media Group, approached him in May 2008 about a song Farmer's recording of "Are You the One."

Farmer claims that Huffman told him "he thought this was a great song," but that the chorus needed work. Farmer claims that Farmer asked him to send him the recording, without the chorus, via email. Farmer says Huffman boasted about how much his producer liked the track "and how it would be a great opportunity to have a platinum producer co-produce the track with [Farmer]" and his partner, DeMario Driver.

Farmer says Huffman circulated the recording to Carey, Island Def Jam Music Group, and the singer Terius Youngdell Nash pka "The Dream." Farmer says he realized his song had been stolen when he heard The Dream's ditty, "My Love," which farmer claims is identical to "Are You the One."

"The songs contain identical melodic coding and the same harmonic protocols that are readily discernible to the human ear," the complaint states. Farmer says he asked Huffman, "Why did you steal my song?" and Huffman replied, "We can work this out."

He claims they met to discuss the "obvious infringement" and work out a settlement. But Huffman cut off communication with Farmer after the meeting and never paid him for the "callously stolen" song, Farmer says.

Mariah, Nick to Wed a Third TimePosted by Lynnon Tuesday, 20-Apr-2010, 3:49PM EDT

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon will be tying the knot for the third time on April 30, which is their two-year wedding anniversary. Expect a similar blowout in 2011, 2012 ... and beyond, as long as they're together.

"We get married every year! That's our thing," Cannon explained to UsMagazine.com at Monday's PepsiCo Feed America Volunteer Day event in NYC. "So it's going to be our third wedding this year. That's what we'll be doing on the actual [anniversary]... We'll do something... A party or event, just to celebrate."

The Grammy-winning singer is definitely getting more bling from her spouse. Cannon confirmed to Us that he'll be getting his wife another diamond ring for the occasion. "That's totally right," he said. "This is the third ring I have to buy...It'll be something different. Something good."

After dating for just six weeks in early 2008, Cannon, 29 and Carey, 40, wed on the singer's private island in The Bahamas in a surprise bash. "It's nice," Cannon gushed. "We like being married every year."

When Perez Hilton called into today's 92.3 NOW's Rollin' With Nick Cannon for the "Dirty On The :30," Nick took issue with the fact that "Punk A** Perez" has been saying that his wife Mariah can't cook. Listen to the two go at it below!

In a rehearsal studio in midtown New York, Mariah Carey is singing "Vision of Love" — over and over. Her left hand moving at her side, she experiments with the harmonies, improvising a new arrangement with a pianist and two backup singers. In contrast to the lush production that dominates Carey's debut album, the trio provides a spare accompaniment, leaving plenty of room for her mighty voice to explore the shape of the melody. Why, she's asked during a break, didn't she record the song this way? "It wasn't my choice to do so much production," she answers quickly and goes back to work.

If Carey had less control over her debut than she wanted, it's because of Columbia Records' immense expectations for her career. The label followed the June release of her album with a promotional blitz equal to the push given to Bruce Springsteen in 1975. "We don't look at her as a dance-pop artist," says label president Don Ienner. "We look at her as a franchise."

Only a month after the album's release, the expectations appear to be justified. Mariah Carey is the fastest-breaking LP this year, climbing in just four weeks to Number Fifteen on Billboard's pop-albums chart, while "Vision of Love" has moved to Number Five on the singles chart.

Before the rehearsal, Carey talked over dinner at a chic Italian restaurant, watched by a chaperon from Columbia. The twenty-year-old singer was raised by her mother, a voice teacher and former New York City Opera singer who named her third child after a song from the Lerner and Loewe musical Paint Your Wagon. Inspired by her older siblings' love for classic soul and gospel, Carey headed for Manhattan one day after graduating from high school to pursue a singing career. She wrote songs during the day and waited tables at night at a series of restaurants, getting fired frequently "for having attitude."

It was perhaps an abundance of attitude that enabled her, at a music-business party in 1988, to hand her demo tape to Tommy Mottola, who six months earlier had become president of the CBS Records Group, Columbia's parent company. "I said to myself, 'Great, another demo tape,'" says Mottola. But after he played it in his limo later that night, he was impressed enough to return to the party in search of Carey.

In 1989, Mottola lured Ienner away from Arista Records, where he had helped build Whitney Houston's career. Mottola wanted him to take charge of restocking Columbia's roster with younger acts, and for Ienner, Carey was an "inspiration" to change labels.

"For this particular time," he says, "she is my No. 1 priority." Thanks to New Kids on the Block, Columbia was the Number One label of 1989, according to Billboard's year-end chart. And the label boasts a line-up of prestigious artists, such as Springsteen, Dylan, the Rolling Stones, George Michael, Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand, but they record infrequently. At a time when women have been dominating the charts, Columbia lacked a young female superstar. In selecting producers for Carey's debut, Ienner took no chances, tapping Narada Michael Walden and Ric Wake, who'd given him hits with Whitney Houston and Taylor Dayne, respectively.

In early June, Columbia secured promotional appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show and arranged to have Carey sing "America the Beautiful" before the first game of the National Basketball Association finals, unusual opportunities for a singer whose debut album hadn't even been released. As further evidence of Columbia's corporate dedication, the first "Vision of Love" video was scrapped, and a new clip was commissioned. An informed source places the combined cost of both videos at $450,000. Ienner dismisses this figure as "total bullshit" but says, "If we're gonna take the time and effort that we did for Mariah, on every level, then we're going to image her the right way. If it costs a few extra dollars to make a splash in terms of the right imaging, you go ahead and do it."

And how did Carey, who describes herself as strong-willed, feel about having her music so carefully monitored by Columbia? Initially, she says, she asked to produced the record with Ben Margulies, her longtime writing partner. "I wasn't open to working with a superstar producer," she says. She was also wary when asked to collaborate on additional songs with her producers and worried that Narada Michael Walden might make her music "too schmaltzy," an apparent reference to his work with Whitney Houston.

"I'm sure she wants to do a lot more on her next album, make it more stark," Mottola says. "She deserves it," says Ienner. "She has a great feeling of what's right and what's wrong."

Asked to evaluate what's right or wrong with her first album, Carey answers diplomatically. "I wasn't used to working that way," she says. "I think it worked out okay in the end." But as she returns to her rehearsal, far from her label's supervision, Carey continues to rerrange her hit single the way she hears it.

It's no secret that Mariah Carey can sing. And her role in Precious proved she can act. But according to her husband, Nick Cannon, her talent doesn't stop there.

"Mariah's a great cook," he tells PEOPLE. "She likes to make fun dishes."

The couple, who will celebrate their second anniversary on April 30, often turn meal-making into quality time.

We like to make little pizzas together," says Cannon, 29. But despite their high-end taste in clothes and cars - Carey received a custom pink Porsche from her husband for her 41st birthday last month - their culinary creations are surprisingly un-gourmet.

"You know, the pizzas with the English muffins and the mozzarella? We do that a lot," says Cannon, who currently hosts a morning radio show on New York's 92.3 NOW. The one ingredient that makes their pizzas unique: Mariah's marinara. "She makes her own sauce," brags her husband. "She's skilled like that."

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Whenever March and April come around I brace myself for Mariah to call up last minute and suggest sweetly "hey what you doing next week? Wanna come and join me for a last minute 27th March anniversary /Wedding nuptial renewals/ vacation/party/celebration?" And yet whilst I know that I have pressing things to attend to here at home-how can you refuse an offer like that from a living legend like Mariah?

It used to knock me off kilter when I was a boring Capricorn that likes to plan her diary at least a month in advance but I've learnt over the years to "be malleable."

This year the call came around 10 days ahead-which for her majesty Mrs Cannon is pretty decent notice!

After throwing in 10 bathing suits, a couple of dresses and a tracky into my now extremely battered suitcase, I jumped on an American Airlines flight wearing my Gucci boots and very English classic lady look. At check-in the stewardess mentioned that she followed my column and as I checked in at the gate I was informed that my seat had been changed. Assuming that my lovely aisle seat had been given to another and I'd been chucked mid-row my neck started twisting outta shape as I questioned "why have you moved me?" I was ready to kick off before feeling real stupid as the clerk smiled "we've upgraded you." "Oh" I giggled embarrassed and had a very pleasant experience sleeping flat all the way en route to my girl's pad in New York.

Once I arrived at Mr and Mrs Cannons lair I was informed there was a note for me in the kitchen. Reading it I was informed that because Mr C awakes at 4am for his daily breakfast radio slot, the Carey-Cannons were already in bed (it was midnight), but that they'd left me "some food in the fridge." Trying not to jump for joy as my mouth dribbled at the sight of UBER bourgeois eatery Mr Chows legendary squab in iceberg lettuce, I continued reading... "oh, and there's a surprise for you in the media room."

Curiosity outdid my exhaustion as I padded down to the media den where our mutual friend had been waiting with MC all day to surprise me with her newborn baby!

I gushed and got my broody on for a couple of hours. We are all inspired by our friend's beautiful baby.

Not wanting to waste food that costs as much as my weekly wage (ok I may be exaggerating but only slightly), I then had Mr Chows for breakfast too before us 3 girls (MC, myself and Rachel) piled into the black convoy of vehicles that carried us to the private airfield to one of Mrs C's favourite places in the world - Puerto Rico!

En route to PR we played the same silly games that 12 year old girls all over the planet play whilst nibbling on crudités and sipping coconut water. I promised not to tweet that we were going to PR so I tweeted "the islands" instead. I shouldn't have bothered cos on arrival at the San Juan airfield the paparazzi was lurking in ambush for Mrs C and the tabloids had her plastered all over the next morning, and I just shrugged my shoulders and quipped "right then, I'll get tweeting haha."

En route to our lovely location at 2am MC insisted on stopping at an American superstore version of Boots chemist, to pick up "noodles for the water" and "candy for her husband" (translation-what we Brits call floaties and sweets," I know I should be used to it by now but every time MC insists on walking into regular stores and shopping it makes me chortle hard inside. If only they could see her now. The stores staff tried to hold it down but eventually cracked as a line of picture requests politely gathered and MC quickly accepted them all (as the drive continued I had to wonder; why are there SO MANY burger kings in PR?).

That evening we had a small slumber party in our pyjamas and caught up as the Carey-Cannons 3 puppies (JJ, Cha Cha and their son Dolomite) ran amok around us. We lovingly call them the 3-puppy-circus due to their constant bouncing and whizzing around us. At one point in his excitement, Dolomite bounced up as we were playing and managed to pull my top clean off! It was like a slow motion cartoon where I protectively clutched my lady parts in modesty!

I assumed it was just a one off accident until moments later when he sprinted out of MC's room with her just-laid-out-panties in his mouth as MC and he proceeded to have a hysterical tug of war. That puppy is officially a freak.

For the next few days we hung out on the veranda admiring the ocean, amazing sculpted fauna and golf courses, Olympic sized pools, hot tubs and play pools, marina and breath taking rain forests in the distance, ate well and slept. Female pup Cha Cha clearly knows she's one of the ladies and would hang out with us all day curling up wherever we were. Most afternoons we migrated to the boat and jumped in and out of the ocean as we had our surf lessons and swam out to the famous island where MC shot her legendary classic "Honey" video.

I don't know how it happens but Mr and Mrs C's pets always love the water whether it's an ocean, pool or hot tub. MC was the perfect student and persevered in the water until she was surfing away with the 3 pups surfing on her board simultaneously with her. It had to be seen to be believed! I gave it a few shots then stuck to the basic activity of floating lazily doing nothing and then jumping back on the boat and machete whacking the hell out of the fresh coconuts and scooping out the delicious flesh, scaring Mrs C silly that I'd do myself an injury. In the evening we debated about American food being better than England's food, and argued long and hard about which we preferred and was the most authentic. Mrs C also cussed us all out for being on our digital devices all day long what with some on twitter, Facebook and the guys checking sports constantly, "whilst we were all in such a beautiful place."

On April Fools Day everyone tried to trick everyone. I told them "in England it only counts before noon." Thereafter "in England" (in a haughty lady of the manor voice) became a joking point to cuss me with every few minutes. A couple of tricks did go down but I've been sworn to secrecy. One afternoon we hung by the pool where poolside Liam Gallagher and all of Prodigy were knocking back the beers and having fun as the odd American that recognised them became overly excited.

Mr C-AKA Mr Nick Cannon, as usual had a long working week with his daily radio show early every morning then his filming for "America's Got Talent," which meant he cold only join us on the Good Friday in Puerto Rico.

On the Saturday we jumped on the Carey-Cannons jet which whisked us off to Orlando where we spent another couple of days having fun. Of course Easter Sunday we remembered the Lord and chilled out ("Jesus is the reason for the season" - Nick's fave line!).

On Easter Monday we contemplated joining the public Easter egg hunt where 4000 people would be hunting eggs but then Nick got his grown man on and put it into perspective for us and reminded us that the public's focus would quickly go from hunting eggs to hunting Mrs C. We knew he was bang on point so instead we began our day (at 5pm) painting Easter eggs. No. Really. Myself, Mr and Mrs C and our good friend Rachel got all competitive dyeing eggs, painting on motifs, and being crazy competitive. We had Easter baskets with loads of fresh eggs, paint, sparkles, ribbon, confetti, you name it, our eggs weren't ever gonna be anything but first class!

I painted a cool baby pink egg and frosted it with silver sparkles. I had no shame in stealing Mr and Mrs C's artistic egg ideas too and stuck funny faces on them. If you think all this sounds too surreal well picture this. Myself, Rachel and MC did all this wearing baby pink bunny ears throughout. Yep - we're forever 12. Nick even bought Mrs C a toy princess tiara, earrings and necklace from the toy store that were appropriately pink yet lavender.

On my final day before I had to jet back home Mr and Mrs C took me to Universal Orlando theme park where they say "you ride the movies." It was no empty boast - the rollercoasters were amazing! We went on the RIP RIDE ROCKIT - scary as hell, fast, high and the drops were stomach curdling. I didn't open my eyes once! Next it was THE INCREDIBLE HULK COASTER and THE DUELLING DRAGONS where I decided to bite the bullet and stay open eyed throughout - it was magical. We were riding them at sunset so the colours and lights around the city were stunning. Of course when you attend with Mr and Mrs C you don't line up - you're escorted very quickly and expertly by a security team that whisked us backstage from ride to ride. Every now and again people would spot the superstar couple and cheer and applaud. Just another day in the life of the Carey Cannons but to me - these are once in a lifetime adventures I'll treasure for ever! Happy anniversary MRS C!

Mariah Carey and Wyclef Jean were among those honored for their contributions made to civil rights at the National Action Network Convention on Thursday, April 15. The hitmaker and the Haitian hiphop star received Keepers of the Dream awards for their humanitarian work and for furthering the ideals and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. See footage from the event below, courtesy of BET News.

April Woodard of BET News:Mariah Carey - who didn't walk the carpet but glistened in a black one-shoulder gown, and who we were told would be fashionably late - was honored with the James Brown Memorial Awards for her philanthropic work through Camp Mariah, which sends 300 inner-city boys and girls to camp. Rev. Al told me Mariah doesn't always advertise her charity work, she just does it, and so he wanted to acknowledge Mariah for her dedication.

Last night, Extra TV reported that Mariah's former boyfriend Luis Miguel apparently almost died after getting plastic surgery. Download a video of Extra's report below. According to People En Español, Luis Miguel was released from Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles and is now at home recovering.

"The Adventures of Mimi" to Air on HDNetPosted by Lynnon Saturday, 17-Apr-2010, 10:15AM EDT

HDNet Concert Series kicks off a superstar spring featuring music legends, starting with Mariah Carey!

HDNet begins this amazing eleven week run with this Sunday's presentation of "Mariah Carey - The Adventures of Mimi," featuring the Grammy award-winning superstar playing to a sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California.

This large scale arena production is your all access pass to see Mariah belt out power ballads and hip-hop tracks with a special guest appearance by "Boyz II Men" who join Mariah to perform their record breaking hit duet "One Sweet Day."

It is a fantasy come true to see and hear an artist of this magnitude touch the hearts and souls of so many with her famous five octave voice.

It's hard to know who was the most impressive performer during the NBA playoffs—Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Clyde Drexler or Carey, who sang "American, the Beautiful" in Detroit before the first game of the finals. At 20, she sings with extraordinary control, driving power, lovely pitch and wide range. And as this debut album shows, she is not just an anthem role player.

A New Yorker whose mother is a vocal coach (she doesn't talk about her father), Carey has a gospel-flavored R&B style that evokes thoughts of everyone from Houston, Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross to Yma Sumac, the octave-spanning Peruvian from the '50s. Carey has one of those rare voices that could be entertaining singing the phone book, a trait that comes in handy on this album. Its 10 songs are uniformly forgettable, both melodically and lyrically. Though the album was co-produced by the reliably homogenizing Narada Michael Walden, Rhett (Smokey Robinson) Lawrence and Ric (Taylor Dayne) Wake, Carey has only herself to blame. She co-wrote all the tunes and arranged most of them with Ben Margulies. While she can't be expected to be brimming with worldly wisdom at her tender years, she would have profited from more outside help.

This album, striking as it is, could have been spectacular with better raw material. Surely Carey has heard of Stevie Wonder and Prince, if not Ellington, Gershwin or Hollad-Dozier-Holland.

It's testimony to her talent that she does so much with so little. Even such routine songs as "Vision of Love" and the de rigueur social-consciousness effort "There's Got To Be A Way" can be mesmerizing, thanks to Carey's tone and clarity.

As for pondering the future, Carey has so many chops to lick that unless she decides to pack it all in and join the Pistons full-time, she is just about a lock to become pop music's biggest sensation since Whitney Houston.

Rihanna was embarrassed when she met Mariah Carey as she could only think of the hours she spent copying her dance routines as a child.

The R&B star is from Barbados, and grew up listening to "diva" music. Her favourite female vocalist was Mariah, and Rihanna admits she was blown away when she finally got to meet her. She couldn't help acting like a crazy fan, admitting she lost all semblance of cool when in the same room as her idol.

"Janet Jackson, Destiny's Child, Whitney Houston – they were definitely the people who motivated me to do this, who I idolised and looked up to and said, 'I want to be like them, I want to do that one day, I want to back videos, make music and have CDs.' That started the dream and it just went from there, and became a reality," she explained. "Yes I have met some of them and it's really, really strange. I still look at Mariah Carey and I'm a fan, I remember Vision of Love when I was repeating every night every move in that video."

 On April 5, a panel of Elle journalists spoke at an event called "ELLEvated" at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. The event was hosted by Phillip Salem. Phillip is a huge Mariah fan and he impressed the editors with questions about Mariah, which the audience enjoyed. She was mentioned several times as being one of the curvier women to be featured in the magazine. The panel also discussed the Elle booklet that was produced for the Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel album.

 Prudence Mabhena, who was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary about how she overcame abuse and a disability and went on to win a scholarship, had the chance to meet Mariah at the Oscars this year. Prudence had this to say about her encounter with Mariah: "I also met Mariah Carey, she is a great person. We did not talk much but it was fun sharing a word with her." Read more of her story here.

INTERNATIONAL NEWSBITS Brazil: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and E=MC² were both certified gold in Brazil this week, according to the ABPD.

 Philippines: "Angels Cry" featuring Ne-Yo is currently #13 on the Myx Hit Chart and #15 on the Myx International Top 20.

 Korea: Check out this video of famed Korean Contemporary Christian Music singer So Hyang singing "Emotions" live. The performance starts around 9:15 into the video. Later in the show (at 15:35), she says: "Mariah, I really love so much." and cites Mariah as her greatest influence.

 France: Below are two photos taken at a fun fair in Bethune, France, which feature Mariah pictured on the side of an attraction:

 Netherlands Antilles: Area 51, a popular group in Curacao, mention Mariah in one of their hit songs "Home Alone." In it they refer to "Blas Mariah Carey's 'Touch My Body,'" which means "bumping Mariah Carey's 'Touch My Body' very loud." Check out the music video here. Mariah is mentioned at around 2:04 into the video.

FANS' CORNER Jack has created a blog called Jackson P Mutley where he discusses Mariah, pop music, and more. Congratulations Jack on your new site!

 Whiteboy Productions are a UK based music production company. Simon is a huge Mariah fan, and with Whiteboy Productions has created a mix of "I'll Be Lovin U Long Time" as well as a track called "Sexy L.O.V.E." which makes a reference to "I'm That Chick." You can hear their creations and join their Facebook group via their website, Whiteboy Productions.

 Here are fans Artie and Theresa performing a "flantastic" rendition of "Always Be My Baby." Click here to see it.

 Pedro has made his own music video for "Butterfly." Check it out here.

 A group of Brazilian fans have created a video asking Mariah to tour Brazil. You can view it here.

As we all know, Mariah has returned to the recording studio to work on a new album. On Friday, April 9th, she announced excitedly on Twitter: "To all the Lambs in the land..Finally!!!Me& Jermash are in his studio reliving the splendor working on new ish."

Jermash is, of course, Jermaine Dupri whom Mariah collaborated with on many songs including the #1 hits: "Always Be My Baby" (Daydream, 1995), "We Belong Together" (The Emancipation of Mimi, 2005) and "Don't Forget About Us" (The Emancipation of Mimi Re-release, 2005). His co-writing and producing partners Bryan-Michael Cox and Johnta Austin are also involved in the project.

Producer Teddy Riley has shown interest on the new Mariah album. On Sunday, April 11th, Jermaine tweeted Teddy that he was working with Mariah, and in reply, Teddy offered, "Would like to do a joint with you for the LP."

It will be Mariah's first time to work with Teddy Riley should this come to fruition. Teddy's long list of production credits include, Michael Jackson's "Remember The Time," Whitney Houston's "Step By Step," Backstreet's "No Diggity," Lady Gaga's "Teeth," and Keith Sweat's "Make It Last Forever" which Mariah interpolated into the "Thank God I Found You" remix in 1999.

We will be monitoring the developments of Mariah's new album closely, and will keep you all up to date.

The soulful sounds of Stevie Wonder echo softly from a boombox, empty takeout cartons lay scattered across the only couch in the room, and a couple of guys hang back in the corner talking quietly. Still, the cavernous rehearsal studio is charged with anticipation. And a few minutes later we find out why, when Mariah Carey walks in.

Despite being the hottest pop sensation since Whitney Houston, Carey, clad in a pair of worn jeans and a simple white shirt, is unassuming, almost bashful, as she reaches for the microphone. "Mind if I just sort of play around a little?" she asks huskily.

Soon the moment she can "remember remembering," Carey says, she's always wanted to play around with sound. Which isn't surprising since the main influence of her youth was her mother, a New York City Opera singer. "I knew from watching and listening to my mom," explains the twenty-year-old, "that singing could and would be my profession. And besides, she had to tear me away from the radio each night just to get me to go to sleep."

At seventeen, prompted by an unquenchable desire to sing, Carey left her home on Long Island and moved in with another struggling singer in New York City. It's here that the story takes on a Cinderella-esque twist. In between waitressing—for just enough money to eat and pay rent—Carey spent her time schlepping her demo tapes around town to music execs who rarely, if ever, agreed to see her. Then one night... fate stepped in. "I'd left my demo tape at this party," says Carey, "and Tommy Mottola, the president of CBS Records, picked it up. There was no phone number or anything on the tape, so the next day they tracked me down." Then her single, Vision of Love, broke music-industry records by topping all the charts. Sounds as if the slipper fit, doesn't it?

A special place that inspires children to dream bigger dreams struck a cord in the heart of a popular young singer.By Michael Ryan

Mariah Carey has a new young man in her life, and she loves to talk about him.

"Andre is really, really cool," the singing star told me. "He's very smart, and he's got a great sense of humor. He wants to be a talk-show host. I think he'll be very good at it."

Carey met Andre last summer, when he and his production crew interviewed her. He doesn't have his own show yet- but then, very few 12-year olds do. Andre interviewed the singer at a summer camp in Fishkill, N.Y., run by the Fresh Air Fund. "I was amazed at the camp," Carey told me. "The kids learn about computers and video equipment. They are learning invaluable skills they'd never get in school."

Mariah Carey was battling fatigue and had a bad cold when we spoke. That day, she was also working on a new album, taping a series of TV spots and accepting major music awards from Sweden and Germany. But she came alive when she began to talk about the kids who have made such an impact on her life.

"About a year ago, I had the idea to start a summer camp to try to make a difference in the lives of city kids," she said. "Then, when I looked into it, I heard about the Fresh Air Fund. They've been around since 1877, and they were doing exactly what I wanted to do."

Every year, the fund gives 10,000 youngsters from urban neighborhoods the chance to discover a kind of life they have never seen. In five summer camps in Fishkill- and in the homes of volunteer families in 13 states, from Maine to Virginia, and in Canada- young people aged 6 to 18 learn about nature, the outdoors and their own potential. "For kids who are stuck at home and don't have the money to go to an expensive camp, this is an incredible opportunity," Carey said.

At the young age of 25, Mariah Carey is a phenomenon in the pop music world. In just five years, she has sold more than 55 million copies of her three albums worldwide and has had five consecutive No. 1 hits on the charts. Her Grammy Awards range from Best New Artist to Best Pop Vocal, and she has appeared in a string of television specials. I wondered why such a big star would be interested in such a venerable institution as The Fresh Air Fund.

The fund, after all, was founded in the 19th century by a New York clergyman who took children out of the squalid tenements of the city and gave them a few weeks in the homes and on the farms of country folk. Though the Fresh Air Fund still takes city youngsters to the country, it has changed with the times. "What really impressed me," Carey explained, "is that, even though the organization has been around for so long, it really has a grasp of what kids need today."

At the camp she visited last year, children aged 12 to 14 learned about a variety of professions in two weeks. "It's a Career Awareness Camp," Carey said. "A doctor will come in, or an oceanographer, and explain what they do."

What special chord had the career camp struck in Carey? As she explained it, she knew as a child what it was like to have her dreams disparaged. "My mother always told me I could be whatever I wanted to be if I kept at it and really believed in myself," Mariah told me. "But other people didn't give me the same encouragement. I told one teacher that I wanted to be a singer and was told, 'There are millions of people out there who can sing. What makes you any different? Don't get your hopes up.' I couldn't believe a teacher would actually say that to someone who had a dream."

But that rejection, and others like it, did not slow Carey down. "I was determined to be a singer since I was 4 years old," she told me. "Of course, most people who set out to do this do fail. But if you set out with the attitude, 'Maybe I will make it, maybe I won't,' then you probably will fail. I wrote some of my songs, like 'Hero' and 'Make It Happen,' to encourage people to stick with their dreams."

In one sense, dreams are what the Fresh Air Fund is all about. "If someone's whole existence is stuck on a city street, then being introduced to a brand new side of life can make a difference," Carey said. "The fund exposes kids to the possibilities that are out there."

Although the Fresh Air Fund sponsors 10,000 children, it actually places 7000 of them in private homes with families who serve as hosts for two weeks- and frequently become important parts of their lives year-round. "Two of my backup singers, Kelly and Shanrae Price, were Fresh Air Fund kids," Carey said. "Kelly told me that she didn't know if she'd be the same person she is today if it weren't for the fund and her host family. She might have gotten into trouble or just have been hanging out on the street." Kelly Price recently had a reunion with members of her host family, and she plans to keep in touch with them.

Carey's latest album, Merry Christmas, climbed to the Top 10 shortly after it was released last November. A few weeks later, she and her backup singers gave the Fresh Air Fund a yuletide gift- a sold-out benefit concert at New York City's Cathedral of St. John The Divine, which raised $700,000.

This summer, Carey plans to return to The Fresh Air Fund's camps and to bring many of her colleagues from the music industry along with her. "I want to teach the kids about the recording business and show them they can be singers, engineers, record company presidents or secretaries."

Last fall, the fund's directors made an announcement. They had renamed the year-old Career Awareness Camp at Fishkill "Camp Mariah." This summer, a ceremony will be held to officially rename it. "It's amazingly flattering to me, of course," Carey said, "but it dictates to me that I should do even more."

Mariah's "I Want To Know What Love Is" has once again topped the Brazilian Airplay chart this week, posting its 25th consecutive week at #1!

In other chart news, in the UK, Mariah's "Angels Cry" advanced 80 spots from #161 to #81 on the Official Top 200 Singles chart, thanks to some decent TV airplay for the video. "Angels Cry" has already outpeaked the other two singles that were officially released only on downloads - "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" went at #84 even with strong airplay (it was Top 10 on the airplay chart) and "I Stay In Love" peaking at #95 even with a performance on X Factor.

At a time when rock 'n' roll is becoming increasingly dominated by hyperbole, and the image has become the message, it's a real pleasure to find an artist once in a while who might be termed "the real thing." The special skills of singer/songwriter Mariah Carey, with her seven octave range, crystal vocal clarity, and knack for fitting words to melodies, qualify her as a genuine talent, and they are abundantly evident on her self-titled debut album on Columbia Records.

Over the course of the LP's ten songs, Ms. Carey takes the listener on a journey that runs the gamut from joy to pathos; it is now spiritual, then sensual.

It is her extraordinary range, however, that is most strikingly phenomenal; not since the late Minnie Ripperton, whose vocal chords were similarly elastic, has a female vocalist delivered such an extensive array of notes and tones. "I listened to Minnie Ripperton when I was little," she explains, "and I always wanted to be able to hit those notes." She has succeeded.

Born and raised in New York City, Mariah says she was exposed to a wide range of musical styles and idioms. Now barely 20 years old, she says her musical influences have been many, but she notes Ripperton, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder as particularly important. In their spirit, she is deeply soulful. She likes a lot of Gospel performers, too — people like the Clark Sisters and Shirley Caesar.

However, her first and most important influence has to have been her mother, Patricia Carey, a former singer with the New York City Opera and a voice coach. "She never really forced me to sing," Mariah stresses. "She would tell me I sang very nicely and always encourage me."

Initially, though, her mother did insist on rather rigid musical discipline from her daughter/student, but Mariah's teen-years' rebellion began early — at the age of twelve: "I started rebelling. I just didn't want to do the legitimate kinds of vocalist things, like Broadway music and stuff like that. I got into the people that influenced me more."

Mariah's training began when she was four. "I did some scales and things like that when I was little," she says, "but mostly I would sing along with records." It wasn't many years before the young singer was hanging out with her mother's musical associates.

While she was in high school, Ms. Carey began writing songs with Ben Margulies, who co-wrote six of the songs on the album. "Ben and I first met through my brother, who paid for a demo I did. Ben played keyboard at the session and we just ended up writing together," she says.

After graduation from high school, Mariah worked at a variety of odd jobs — things like waitressing ("Every two weeks I'd get fired from another waitress job"), all the while with a clear focus on a musical career. She sang back-up for a time with Brenda K. Starr, who was instrumental in landing her a record deal. "She was always such a good person, and she always wanted to help me," Carey says. "At one point she told me, 'I don't want you singing back-up anymore; you should be singing lead.'"

Starr took the initiative that provided her teenage protege with ample opportunity not only to sing lead, but to lead a career of her own. She gave a tape of Carey to Tommy Mottola, the president of CBS Records Division. "She says he put it on in the car, and when he started listening to it he turned around and came back to find me to give me a deal, but I was gone, and there was no phone number on the tape," recalls Carey. "That was pretty incredible."

Mariah Carey was written almost entirely by its namesake (one of the cuts was not), and it was produced by Narada Michael Walden, Rhett Lawrence and Ric Wake. The work tastefully combines state-of-the-art recording techniques with delicate acoustic instrumentation. And unlike many contemporary records — where the music can dominate the vocals as a means of disguising mediocrity, the arrangements compliment and accent the voice work by Mariah.

As for her social life, it's hard to devote your time to a significant other and to a career — especially a career that demands long hours and complete devotion. "I don't think people that are my age or even just a little older can understand that you have to really be dedicated to what you're doing."

After she has succeeded — at least a little — in her show business pursuits, she says she will open her life to various social possibilities.

At the moment, young Mariah Carey is mastering the possibilities of the music business. Her vocal endowments are considerable, and her future is contained in her talent and her ambition.

Mariah Carey will leave many listeners breathless, and marveling at the performance of a 20 year old singer with no time for a social life, but a lifetime of potential stretching out before her — and all very much within the sound of her incredible voice.

Source: Wiz Circular | Scan: Ade Joy | Text: MariahDailyJournal

Video: Mariah, JD and B.Cox Live in the StudioPosted by Lynnon Saturday, 10-Apr-2010, 3:11PM EDT

For those who could not be online for the live uStream of Mariah, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox during a downtime while working on Mariah's new album at JD's Atlanta studio last night, you can now watch the recorded video at Global14 or below. Thanks to JD for letting us know!

In the video at around the 7:10 mark, Mariah gives a shout-out to Mariah Daily! "We have to let the Mariah Daily people know the story."

LAST NIGHT ME, B COX AND MARIAH WENT TO USTREAM AFTER WE ANNOUNCED THAT WE WERE BACK IN THE STUDIO. SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE LAMBS AND LIFERS THAT CAME THRU AND SHOWED US LOVE WE LOVE YALL BACK. ON THIS VIDEO YOU CAN'T HEAR US UNTIL LIKE 3:18 CAUSE I HAD MY MIC MUTED MY BAD LOL !!!!!!! LOOK FOR A NEW LIVING THE LIFE LATER TONIGHT

Hi Gary,I was wondering why Mariah Carey's latest album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," wasn't able to gain traction in the U.S. Several good singles have been released, including some great remixes, but only one barely cracked the top 10 on Adult Contemporary. What happened?--Johnathon P. Atwood, San Jose, California

Ask Billboard's Gary Trust replies:While her latest album may pale in comparison to some of her earlier sets that yielded multiple No. 1s on the Hot 100, Carey is still going strong two weeks after turning 40.

"Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," which has sold 470,000 copies to date, has actually produced a pair of top 10s. "Obsessed" peaked at No. 1 on Dance/Club Play Songs, Hot Dance Airplay and Hot Videoclips, No. 7 on the Hot 100 and No. 8 on Pop Songs. Her remake of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is" reached No. 2 on Dance/Club Play Songs and No. 10 on Adult Contemporary.

I agree that the album's single releases have been strong, especially the Seamus Haji and Paul Emanuel remix of "Obsessed" and the Donnie Hotwheel uptempo mix of "I Want to Know What Love Is."

(My favorite song on the album hasn't been released as a single, and is subtitled an "interlude," for that matter: the melodic "Languishing").

While radio hasn't been as open to Carey's recent singles as they were throughout the '90s, when she notched the first 14 of her 18 Hot 100 No. 1s, her 14-week No. 1 "We Belong Together" in 2005 proves that a monster radio comeback is always possible. On Pop Songs, that track began a run of five top 10s for Carey in the last five years after posting one between 1998 and 2004.

Remember, too, that current-driven radio formats, such as top 40 and R&B/hip-hop, often tend to favor younger artists, such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Ke$ha.

Thus, it's always a notable achievement when veteran performers continue to reach the top 10 at those formats. In addition to Carey, Monica, 15 years after her first chart appearance, sits atop R&B/Hip-Hop Songs this week with "Everything to Me" and Mary J. Blige ranks at No. 9 on the list with "I Am," her 22nd top 10 dating to her first 18 years ago.

If you look at this picture and think, "I wish that lady would get out of the way so I can get a better look at Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit." That lady is Mariah Carey, who apparently rode Rockit and a number of Universal Orlando's other coasters and attractions during a visit yesterday, April 8. Striking a somewhat come-hither pose, the singer-actress (who was a revelation in Precious) seems to be trying to divert coaster dudes from ogling the sleek red track and the ride queue entrance behind her.

Beautiful, multi-talented millionairess Mariah Carey is somewhat miffed at mainstream media for focusing more on her marriage to Sony Music President Thomas (Tommy) Mottola than on her first world concert tour.

Moreover, the 23-year-old pop diva whose songwriting and singing talents have helped her produce three albums which sold more than 10 million copies since her debut LP, Mariah Carey, in 1990, isn't pleased with some music critics. Reason: She resents critics who say she resembles the fairy-tale Cinderella, who was lifted from obscurity at 18 to stardom in four years without paying her dues.

"I think critics say I haven't paid any dues because it happened quickly for me," Ms. Carey responds and then elaborates:

"People all of a sudden just see me and hear me having hit records and it seems to have come out of the blue. But really I have been working toward this my whole life, and this is what I say when people say I haven't paid dues.

"All they see is from 1990 till 1993. They don't see what took place before that--my whole life and the struggles that I went through in life ... to fulfill this dream of making music and being a singer. My dream was the only thing I ever had to hold on to and my mother taught me to believe in myself."

Reflecting on her upbringing in Long Island, NY, by her mother Patricia Carey, a former singer with the New York City Opera and a vocal coach who began teaching her to sing at age four, Ms. Carey tells of the struggle of being reared by a single parent.

The singer was only 3 years old when her Irish-American mother became estranged from her father Alfred Roy Carey, a prominent Black aeronautical engineer from Venezuela, who now lives in Washington, DC and New York.

"When you live day to day in this life style, it could be very easy to forget where you come from," Ms. Carey observes in referring to the luxurious living provided by the marriage to her mega-millionaire music mentor Mottola.

"I remember when I was living in New York and I had no money to buy a pair of shoes, and used to walk to work with a pair of shoes with holes in them in the snow," the music star recollects dearly in the interview that followed a recent visit to greet the editors in the Chicago headquarters of Johnson Publishing Co.

"I try to hold on to the feelings that got me here," she says of the tough times and the waitressing job she held to make do. "If all of a sudden you start thinking that you are untouchable and you're great and everything you do is amazing--just living high--then you are not a real person any more... I just try to remember the person that was struggling to get to this point and never let go of that," she emphasizes.

However, she did feel tempted to return to the restaurant where she was a waitress, after producing four back-to-back multi-platinum albums--Mariah Carey, Emotions, Unplugged and Music Box. "I had said, 'I can't wait to sit down and order something to eat and make them wait on me instead of them bossing me around all the time,' but I haven't done that."

Neither has she been in touch with her high school teachers who labored to keep her from dropping out of school. "I don't blame them for trying to encourage me to do better scholastically because they never heard me sing. They just saw this kid that had a dream of making music and being a singer. Unfortunately, a lot of people have dreams and nothing ever becomes of them. So I understand why they were cracking down on me and I respect that."

She has visited her high school once since stardom and that was the occasion to talk with the assistant principal, John Garvey, who once said that the teachers could talk to her until they were blue in the face and it didn't do any good because she just wanted to be a rock star.

"It's funny because that was my attitude," she muses. "It was very lucky for me that this happened because only the Lord knows where I would be right now with that kind of attitude. But it is true that if you want something, you have to completely believe in the fact that you can do it. Picture yourself doing it and just believe and go for it. Don't let anybody discourage you, and that is what I was doing."

She credits her mother for putting this belief in herself--for branding the belief on her brains. Her mother, she says, is her hero and is one of the inspirations for writing the hit song, Hero.

"I like to try and give positive messages, if I can in my music, whenever I can... like with the songs Make It Happen and Hero," the singer/songwriter notes. She adds: "I do this because there is a lot of negativity out there and lot of people are singing about how screwed up the world is, and I don't think that everybody wants to hear about that all the time."

And there is one thing that she is tired of hearing about all the time--the misconceptions about her relationship with her husband. She and Mottola, who was recently picked to preside over Sony's $2 billion world-wide music empire, had been working together about a year before they discovered that their personalities and interest in music became a "very strong force in both of our lives," she reveals. "We just work so closely together and I don't think a lot of other people would understand what he has to deal with and the pressures that he has to go through."

Ms. Carey points out, "We had a great relationship before the marriage and I think that probably the biggest difference now is that I can talk about it and feel comfortable discussing the whole thing... I have to deal with misconceptions by the public or by certain people in the industry that don't understand that he is my husband and he does a lot for me, but he does a lot for every artist on the label who he believes in... He doesn't do anything for me that he doesn't do for many other artists on the label."

What really hurts the young diva is that some people think that the only reason she has made it is because of her marriage. "The truth is that you can't make people go into a store and buy an album. The music has to do that... The success I am having is because of the people relating to my music."

There are other misconceptions that Ms. Carey told JET she wants to deal with. Unlike some superstars who are frequently seen with their parents in published photos, Ms. Carey is not but that doesn't mean they are feuding.

Discussing her father who, she says, maintains homes in the nation's capital and in Manhattan, Ms. Carey discloses:

"The thing about my father is that he isn't the type of person to jump on the bandwagon. And he is the one person in my life, unlike some distant relatives who have resurfaced, that never asked me for anything. I respect him for that. He hasn't imposed that on me and I have seen him. He was at my wedding and he was at my (recent) show at the Garden." Recalling that he was divorced from her mother for two decades, she laments: "I think divorces are very hard things... And you know, I think that my parents had a lot of strikes against them just being an interracial couple. And in the time they were married in the '60s and '70s there was a lot of racism and a lot of problems... I was the youngest kid so I never grew up with him at all... But I think he is a good person and I hope he is happy in his life..."

Growing up with her mother was very hard. She confides: "At the time I was growing up things were hard with my mother not having a lot of money and moving around a lot... feeling different from everybody. And that is what always made me look inside myself and have to really depend on myself and know that only I could make things happen for me."

Looking back, she reveres her mother for surviving the circumstances and helping her nurture the dream of making music and being a singer.

"Well, every day I just thank God for every thing I have and I know that because of my prayers as well as hard work that is the reason I am here," Ms. Carey allows with joy. She adds: "I think that everything I went through was a blessing, even though, you know, at the time I was growing up things were hard."

She says she has learned how to handle the criticism she got when she made her album debut. "The criticism," she says was, 'Oh, it's a White girl that sounds Black or she is not acknowledging that she is Black.'

"At first, I just felt like what do they want me to do, put a sticker on my album?...

"My mother and father taught my brother (Morgan) and my sister (Allison) to say that they were interracial when people would ask them and it kind of rubbed off on me... What I really do is just say, 'You know my mother is Irish and my father is Black and Venezuelan--and that is who I am.'"

Nick Canon says he laughs when people call him "Mr. Mariah Carey." 'That type of stuff is humorous to me," he says. "The 'Mr.Carey' stuff is not an insult to me." Cannon and Carey married two years ago in a top-secret ceremony in The Bahamas that surprised many in and out of Hollywood.

He says if he was not accomplished in his own right, he might worry when people refer to him as just Mariah's husband. "If I were an insecure individual or if that was true, that type of statement—that I am a 'boy toy' or 'yes man' and all that type of stuff—would bother me. "But anybody who knows me or talks to me for five minutes knows clearly that's not the picture," says Cannon, who is 29.

Cannon has established himself as an actor (in the film Drumline, for example); a recording artist and music producer; stand-up comic; radio personality; and TV host of America's Got Talent.

These days, he is also building a business empire. Cannon is the CEO of his own multimedia company, NCredible Entertainment, and chairman of the Teen Nick television network. Still, his marriage to Mariah Carey gets a lot of attention.

The two clicked when Carey cast him as a lover in the video for her single Bye Bye in 2008. They wed soon afterward (JET, May 26 2008). Some said it wouldn't last more than a few months because of their age difference and her megastar status. He's heard all the rumors and speculation about their relationship.

"You can't take any of it seriously. As long as you are strong with who you are and put your family first within your household what people say on the outside is meaningless," Cannon says. "I believe a marriage is a union where two become one. I am not worried about it." He says age is not a factor in their marriage. "On the outside it may look like it, but it never comes up. We both have youthful spirits; we enjoy life."

Cannon says they will have children when "the time is right." "You can't have a family and be all over the world. You've got to focus and get it right," he says.

Rock hardman Liam Gallagher got Butterflies when he came face to face with Mariah Carey on Sunday, April 4.

Liam, 37, had taken his family to Orlando, Florida for a holiday. After watching Arctic Monkeys at Universal theme park, Liam headed to his hotel and found Mariah celebrating her birthday by the pool.

We hear: "Like a shy kid he said: 'Hi, I'm Liam from Oasis.' He then wished Mariah a Happy Birthday and tried to get a beer." But he was out of luck. Her pals were drinking champagne while Mariah stuck to orange juice.

The Mariah Carey vs. Jump Smokers Remix album, an all-Dance release featuring Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel tracks remixed by the hottest new remixers: Roman, Reydon, V-Skratch and Johnny Digital, collectively known as the Jump Smokers, is still on the schedule and coming out soon, as revealed by the group on their Facebook:

"Wanna put all the Mariah Carey fans at ease: we have been told that our M.C. vs. J.S. Remix Album WILL be coming out!!! We don't have an official date yet (obv that's outta our control) but ya'll will DEF be hearing this project that we all worked SO hard on..."

Below is Mariah's very first interview with Entertainment Weekly, published in issue #25 dated August 3, 1990.

Vision of LovelinessSpotlight on Mariah Carey -- With her soulful debut album and single, "Vision of Love," the singer steps out of the backgroundBy Ron Givens

Mariah Carey isn't afraid to make noise. As "Vision of Love" — the very first single from Mariah Carey, her very first album — climbs toward the top of the charts, she finds herself sitting on a leather couch in her management's Manhattan office answering questions about her river-deep, mountain-high voice. "I'm an alto with a five-octave range," she says, "and then there's my whisper register."

Whisper register? Pulling a tumble of sepia ringlets off her forehead, she offers a demonstration. First, a rippling, soulful "ooh" comes rolling effortlessly from her throat: alto. Then, after a quick breath, she goes for the stratosphere, with a sound that nearly changes the barometric pressure in the room. In one brief swoop, she seems to squeal and roar at the same time: whisper register. Another quick breath, and then Carey says huskily, "I'm sorry. I'm really tired. I was on Good Morning America today."

If she ever gets a chance to rest up, the windows of America are doomed. But when will that be? For the past few months, Carey's been busy making promotional appearances in such disparate places as Cleveland, Ohio, and Milan, Italy, for "the guy who distributes the records, the guy who stands behind the counter, the guy who programs the radio station." Everybody but the guy who goes to concerts. To date Carey has yet to sing for a paying audience of her own, and she may not do that until her next album. So Columbia Records, her label, has been using radio and television to market her gospel-heavy pop sound. "Vision of Love," with a pyrotechnical vocal that resembles the work of Whitney Houston, was the No. 2 song in the country last week and her debut album has surged into the top 10. "It all seems like a dream," says the 20-year-old New York City native, who has wanted to be a singer since she was 4.

A little over two years ago, Carey was waitressing while sharing a Manhattan apartment with three others. "I didn't buy clothing," she remembers. "I bought food and paid the rent." Then she landed a job as backup singer to Brenda K. Starr ("I Still Believe"). Seven months later, Starr walked up to Tommy Mottola, president of CBS Records, and thrust a tape of Carey's songs into his hand. That demo brought Carey a record deal and her own apartment. "It was a great turning point in my life," she says.

Then came the hard part. Carey set to writing more songs and working in the studio. The process had its frustrations, as a series of producers and record executives meticulously pored over her session tapes. "From the demo to the finished songs, we went through a lot of different stages," she says. "The production got to be a headache. Different drum sounds, different synths, the strings weren't loud enough." The intense scrutiny did mean, however, that Columbia considered Carey to have significant commercial potential. And she has now realized it, with the help of a major promotional campaign featuring Carey in tight, low-cut clothing.

Strangely, for someone with such a well-developed theatrical delivery, Carey has seldom performed live. So, where did she learn her craft? Her mother, Patricia Carey, who sang with the New York City Opera in the late '60s and worked in folk music and jazz, taught her the fundamentals but never tried to steer her toward any particular style. Carey's gospel orientation developed after she listened to her brother and sister, 9 and 10 years older, play R&B records. She's not a churchgoer, but she can rattle off all her gospel favorites, from the Clark Sisters to Al Green. Not on the list, however, is Whitney Houston. The similarity of their bombastic, highly decorated styles is due to "the same influences," says Carey, who gets asked about the likeness all the time. "When you're new, people have to have a reference point. For me, it's Whitney Houston."

In fact, Carey wishes her album had less of the show-stopper quality that resembles Houston's work. "I'd be happier if it were a little more raw," she says. And she would have preferred not to have Columbia emphasize her sex appeal. But, Carey makes entirely clear, "I'm very happy with what's happened. I've got a great record company." It has helped her achieve remarkable success, which she has barely had time to contemplate. "It's hard for me to feel that it's real," she says. "I can't touch it. I still feel like the same person who's been striving for a long time. I still feel like me."

Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network (NAN) will host its annual national conference from April 14 - 17 at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City.

The four-day event will convene hundreds of delegates and prominent leaders in civil rights, business, politics, labor, entertainment and the religious community from around the country to address key issues impacting people of color.

Among the confirmed participants: US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Housing Shawn Donovan, Michael Steele, Chairman of The Republican National Party, Dr. Bill Cosby, Mariah Carey, Wyclef Jean, Ben Jealous, President of the NAACP, Marc Morial, President of the National Urban League, Tom Joyner, Roland Martin and Michael Eric Dyson.

Highlights will include the annual Keepers of the Dream Awards on Thursday, April 15 honoring those who are committed to furthering the ideals and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The event will be hosted by Tamron Hall, MSNBC and honorees include Wyclef Jean, humanitarian and world-renown musical artist, Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal, Mariah Carey, Award-Winning Actress and internationally acclaimed Singer, Dr. Robert M. Franklin, President of Morehouse College, Kimberly Davis, President of JPMorgan Chase Foundation and more. There will be a special keynote address by Dr. Bill Cosby.

NOTE: Mariah is receiving the Keepers of the Dream James Brown Memorial Award on April 15. The event will not be televised live.

PopSugar.com has launched its 4th annual PopSugar 100. They're using a tournament style bracket to help them narrow down the list all the way to #1. Mariah is pitted against Salma Hayek in round one. We want to make sure she makes it to round two and possibly even win! Cast your vote for Mariah here.

Help PopSugar choose the PopSugar 100 and get a chance to win a Chanel bag, contest details here.

"I was a kid when I first started and it all happened so fast and so early in my life. And now it's like, you know, I think I'm enjoying this part of my life much more.

"It was everything that I hate because I'm a very insecure person in a lot of ways and it was everything I hate visually but I think that a lot of people didn't recognize me in the screenings, and that was a great compliment for me because I also changed my voice, and changed my accent and a lot of things in order to just lose the 'Mariah Carey' thing."

When you're a diva, birthday celebrations can last for at least a week!

Mariah Carey is celebrating turning 41 last Saturday with a five-star vacation in Puerto Rico. The Precious star and her husband Nick Cannon have been staying in a private villa at the salubrious Waldorf Astoria El Conquistador Resort since last Tuesday.

According to the resort's website, the El Conquistador is "the ultimate luxury" where guests can "escape to a cliff top oasis, where the azure colored Caribbean sea seamlessly merges with the rolling surf of the wide Atlantic."

The happy couple brought a few friends along for the festivities and according to a resort insider, Mariah and her posse have been living it up! "They have a 24 hour butler and she has her own staff with her too, so they have constant service," dished the source. "They aren't really leaving their private casita because they don't need to. They have a private pool and the most amazing ocean view."

So, who else went along for the fun? Mariah's three dogs J.J., Cha Cha and Dolomite, of course.

With the Caribbean waters on their doorstep, Mariah and Co. haven't spent all their time indoors. In fact, our spies report the loved up pair took to the high seas on a luxurious catamaran, where Mariah proved that while she might be a diva, she still has modest tastes. "She had her ship's waiters go and get her Krispy Kreme doughnuts", the eyewitness added.

Mariah celebrated the official end of her Angels Advocate Tour in a party at Aria's Haze Nightclub in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, February 27, 2010. Below are photos of Mariah and Ciara at the party. More pictures can be viewed here.

Mariah Carey may be a diva, but her heart is always in the right place.

Mariah Carey was born March 27, 1970 in Huntington, Long Island, New York. She is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She is born under the independent and leadership sign of Aries, which makes her a person with purpose who is hugely, dedicated to achieving her goals in life.

Charity Biography - Mariah became associated with the Fresh Air Fund in the early 1990s, and is the co-founder of Camp Mariah. Camp Mariah is located in Fishkill, New York and helps 300 inner-city youths to explore educational paths and career options whilst enjoying pleasurable camp activities. Mariah is known all over the country for her work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation in granting the desires of children who are battling life-threatening illnesses. Mariah is also recognized as a Congressional Horizon Award recipient for her humanitarian work and her efforts to aid underprivileged children from around the world. Mariah has raised millions of dollars for charities by singing in countless benefit concerts that include VH1's 1998 Divas Live, A Tribute to Heroes Fundraiser for victims of 9/11, At Home for the Holidays on CBS, Hurricane Katrina relief telethon Shelter from the Storm and Haiti's earthquake relief efforts. True to her Arian sign, she is task and success orientated - simply, she gets things done!

Our Japanese friends Shino, Kotaro and Nobu celebrated Mariah's anniversary by creating their own version of the "Up Out My Face" music video. Shino writes: "We celebrated MCC's anniversary on March 27. We made a Mimi doll box and butterly cake and much more... and we dedicate this video to MCC! Even if we're in Japan, we're always loving you. Aishitemasu always MCC!"

Below are photos of Mariah arriving in Puerto Rico at 11:45pm on Tuesday, March 30, 2010. Mariah is vacationing at an exclusive beach resort on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico with her friends and three dogs J.J., Cha Cha and Dolomite.

Fans in Rio de Janeiro had a big party to celebrate Mariah's anniversary at Rio de Janeiro's most famous gay club, Le Boy on Saturday, March 27. The party was organized by Fan Party with the support of Universal Music Brasil. Check out some pictures from the party below!

In Sao Paulo, a group of Brazilian fans, led by Robinho & Guh, gathered at Guingas Bar on Saturday, March 27 to honor Mariah. Below are some photos. Watch videos from the event here.

Also last Saturday, Spain's Entertainment TV show Corazon aired a Mariah Carey special in its "327 Live" segment in honor of her birthday. Click here to see a video. Mariah can be seen starting at around the 27:20 mark.